TeenPact

Where do I start? This has been one of the most amazing and powerful weeks of my entire life.

A few weeks ago, I was terrified when I had to read the first part of the bill I had written in front of about 20 students, all of whom I knew, and all of whom would have to do the exact same thing. Last Wednesday, I stood up alone in front of 91 other students, several staffers and parents, and read a bill that I had not been required to write or present.

And I felt no fear.

Months ago I was terrified of starting a conversation. About a year and a half ago I was even afraid of carrying on a conversation! I gave the impression of  being standoffish and unapproachable. I was in deathly fear of saying anything that seemed out of place. Last Wednesday, I interviewed a lobbyist with my two teammates taking notes. Also on Wednesday, I stood in front of my fellow HWC (Health and Wealth Committee) members at TeenPact and participated in a debate with another student. And also on Wednesday, I went up to a girl who wasn't talking to anyone and started a conversation with her.

I felt no fear.

Not too long ago, I was terrified of praying in public. This week I have prayed aloud in a group setting numerous times, both when I was required to and when I was not.

I felt no fear.

God has done incredible things through TeenPact this week. He has taken away my fear! I know that I'll still struggle with this for the rest of my life, but this week God has shown me that He has the power to take away my fear, no matter how powerful I think it is. And He has also shown me that if I rely on Him, He'll do amazing things through me despite my weakness and my fear.

:) TeenPact was incredible. From the time we arrived at the Capitol at 8:45 a.m. to the time we left (I think it was about 3:30 p.m.), there was literally NO wasted time. Every minute was full; so much so that I was trying to study my notes as we were walking from place to place! :D After we got back from the Capitol each day, there was Ultimate Frisbee, dinner, and then the evening sessions, Rendezvous, and games. We were to be back in our hotel rooms by 11:00, and usually with the lights out (at least for my room) at 11:30. Here are some pictures interspersed with stories and explanations...

Kalei doing her morning devotions

Kalei ready to go...

Breakfast

My nametag. (HWC =  Health and Wealth Committee)

That expression pretty much sums up how I was feeling... "Am I ready for this? Maybe, maybe not..." 

TeenPact has quite a strict dress code in regard to both modesty and professionalism. Other than the fact that I had to wear 2" heels all week (I couldn't find professional flats that actually fit), I enjoyed it. It was really nice to be in an environment where EVERYONE was dressed modestly, nicely, and sharply! :) 

Morning devotional... a different staffer presented it each morning, and each morning it was very good! 

In the auditorium, getting seated...

Ben Solem, the amazing program director

The first day, the staffers put on a skit about the process of how a bill is made and how it becomes a law. It was quite funny! :D  

Photo thanks to my friend Kaylee

Photo thanks to my friend Kaylee

Photo thanks to my friend Kaylee

Photo thanks to my friend Kaylee

Photo thanks to my friend Kaylee

One of the most fun things about the whole week was  the TeenPact legislature. Part of the homework was to write a bill on any topic (as long as it was serious), to be presented at this legislature. After we had written one serious bill, we were allowed to write as many bills as we wanted and to make them as crazy as we wanted. At the beginning of the TeenPact legislature each day, the chairman (Johnny, in the above photo) would ask if there were any new reads to be presented. On the first day everyone had to read their bill. Hardly anyone got to read more than the first few sentences because of time limitations; after they had read the title, purpose, and occasionally the first section, Johnny would bang his gavel and assign it to a committee. 

Photo thanks to my friend Kaylee

At lunchtime, each committee was assigned to a table in the cafeteria where they would discuss all bills assigned to them. Each committee elected a chairman and a clerk, and voted on their assigned bills. HWC didn't have quite as many as some of the other committees, but one of my bills did get assigned to it, which was neat. :) It passed with an amendment, but did not get brought up in the House because of a multitude of bills and a deficiency of time! 

In the afternoon session of TeenPact legislature, all the bills that passed out of committee were read. Well... as I said, there was a deficiency of time, so not all the bills were read... but some of the bills that passed out of committee were read and voted upon. :D 

Photo thanks to my friend Katie Lynn

Each day, usually in the afternoon, we had a prayer walk. We stayed in our committees and walked to various points in the buildings to pray for elected officials. We went to the House of Representatives and took turns praying for our specific representative and for the House as a whole. We stood outside the governor's office and prayed for him. We stood outside the office of the treasurer and prayed for him. On the last day, we split up into guy and girl groups and prayed for each other. It was really amazing to be able to pray out loud in a public place for our elected officials- this is a freedom that is so rare in the world, and we should definitely not take it lightly! Later in the week we heard stories about how it had encouraged others who were passing by and saw us praying.

Photo thanks to my friend Katie Lynn

Field Experiences were another part of the day that I absolutely loved. On Tuesday we did a bill analysis and some crossfire debates. Because of time limitations, only four people were able to participate (two at a time), but I learned a lot just from watching them. The next day we interviewed lobbyists and did a judicial review. The judicial review, for me, ended up taking the place of participating in the crossfire debates! :) I and one of my committee members debated a case to try to win the rest of our committee over to our side. It was a lot of fun! :)

Photo thanks to my friend Kaylee.

As far as I know, the entire wing of the hotel that we stayed at was filled with TeenPacters! I'm not sure how many rooms our SCCCHE group reserved, but it was a LOT. :) I was assigned a room with Kalei, another friend, and that friend's mom. Right next door to us was the suite that another family from our group had reserved. They used the 'living room' area as our breakfast, dinner, and game time room, but it was way too small for us all to eat in, so we lined up in the hallway. ^This is just a few of us here...

After dinner, we went downstairs to the meeting room of the hotel for the evening sessions. These were completely optional, but were definitely worth going to. We started with worship, then listened to a talk by Mr. Williams, our guest director. I took a LOT of notes! :D All three evenings he talked about overcoming the fear of man. His main point was that fear of men is a sin because it's really disregarding God. If we're relying on people instead of on God for our security, we have a problem! Mr. Williams was very inspiring; I wish I had videoed his talks! 

After the session, we had a time of organized games. on Monday night, we played "Do you love your neighbor?", which was a ton of fun... on Tuesday night, we had an Ultimate Ninja Tournament! Of course someone from SCCCHE won... we tend to be known for our ninjas. ;) I did get several videos after I was beaten, and Kalei videoed me in a Ninja duel with another girl from our group. 

On Monday night after organized games were over, we headed up to the breakfast/dinner room. Some of us played spoons while others went into the adjoining room for jam sessions! We all joined at the end singing In Christ Alone. 

Looking through music 

Photo thanks to my friend Katie Lynn

Spoons

On Tuesday night after the evening session and the Ultimate Ninja Tournament, we all split up and worked on campaigns! TeenPact holds a student election on the third day in which 3 senators and a governor will be elected. The primaries were held on Tuesday for each party (Reform, Workers', and... the other party that I forgot :P). We were divided randomly into the three parties and sent to separate parts of the auditorium to elect our candidates. 

Since I don't have permission to post names, I'll call each of the candidates by their initials. There ended up being four people running for governor (the three party candidates plus one write-in). The Reform party candidate, BK, organized a fantastic campaign not only for himself but for the senatorial candidates for his party: CT, ST, and SC. They did a fantastic job, coming up with great campaign slogans, decorating posters and balloons, and gettting their names out really well. And I mean really well... they ended up getting their entire party elected, even though there was some stiff competition!

All of the senatorial candidates

On Thursday before graduations, each of the elected officials had to give a short speech. I posted these on YouTube; here are the links if you would like to see them:

Governor's speech: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ETSDuunkM0&feature=youtu.be

Senators' speeches: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XR1Uzvf-fCs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-s37GttN5Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I62eY0SWcEk

 One of the activities we did was called Power Grab. We were split up into three teams to represent the three branches of government:  Judicial, Legislative, and Executive. Each person was given a small copy of the Constitution. For each round, a situation was displayed on the board. (Example: [name] drove to the Capitol and parked in the Governor's private parking spot. He was fined, but the President pardoned him.) The different teams competed to see who could find the part of the Constitution addressed the issue given. In the example, the answer was in Article 2, Section 2: 

The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to Grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.

The President does not have the authority to pardon [name] for a parking violation, since it's not an offense against the United States.

The week flew by so fast! I didn't even realize that it was over until we were in the parking lot walking to the cars... then it hit me. :O

Our group being crazy...
(Photo thanks to Katie Lynn's mom.)

The guys in our group
(Photo thanks to Katie Lynn's mom.)

The girls in our group (with bodyguards in the back :D)
(Photo thanks to Katie Lynn's mom.)

SCCCHE TeenPacters!!! :D
(Photo thanks to Katie Lynn's mom.)

All of the TeenPacters!!!
(Photo thanks to Kaylee's dad.)

More pictures to come when I collect them from friends! :D